Visualizing GIS data with R and Open Street Map

In this post I way to share with you some code to use Openstreetmap – maps as a backdrop for a data visualization. We will use the RgoogleMaps-package for R. In the following I will show you how to make this graph.

1. Download the map

I wanted to take a closer look at an area around my former neighborhood, which is in Bochum, Germany.

Now you can add some points to the map. If you want them to mean anything it may be handy to specify an alpha-level and change some aspects of the points, e.g. size, color, alpha corresponding to some variable of interest.